Brenna Gallo: Crafting Mindfulness Through Yoga and Handmade Jewelry

Brenna Gallo is a motivated entrepreneur who combines her passion for health, fitness, and jewelry design to run two businesses while also working as a barista. As a certified yoga instructor with over 1000 hours of experience, Brenna has created her own unique workout class called SCOULPT yoga. Additionally, she designs one of a kind earrings for her jewelry brand, Lunar Tides. Between long jogs on the beach with her two Australian shepherds, serving americanos at Captain Jacks, and teaching classes every Wednesday at 6pm, The Drift caught up with Brenna to find out how she makes it all happen.

Brenna Gallo getting ready to teach SCOULPT yoga.

How did you come to be a yoga instructor?

Yoga just sort of just found me. Over 15 years ago in California, my close friend Amanda introduced me to yoga. She and her mom were into it and it slowly became part of my life too. Yoga is so much more than poses and flowing and moving your body- t's a whole lifestyle. It's what you eat and the way you communicate and how you interact with others. 

After moving here I was trying to find something I was passionate about and yoga re-entered my life. I was sitting with a girlfriend in Westport after we had taken a class together and a yoga teacher training popped up on my social media feed. I took that as the universe saying, here you go, here's the next step. I never thought I could do it because public speaking is one of my biggest fears.

I trained at True Self Yoga in Olympia and they changed my entire outlook on yoga and being a teacher. Overcoming my fear and accomplishing that is something I'm pretty proud of.

Where have you taught yoga on the South Beach?

I’ve taught all over the place. On the grass in front of the Maritime Museum, down at the docks behind the Green Monster, on the lawn at the Tokeland Hotel, and I even taught beer yoga at Blackbeards. It was an opportunity that arose and I took it because, well, why not? I got to meet so many awesome people through doing beer yoga! I still sometimes offer a Sunday morning yoga and mimosa class, but every Wednesday evening at 6pm I teach my SCOULPT Yoga class at Waves Healing Studio in Grayland. (Find Brenna’s class schedule on Instagram at Soul Yoga)

How did you create SCOULPT yoga?

Fitness has always been a huge part of my life. I love working out and staying physically fit and healthy. I also have a background in dance and I love music. I saw a decline in interest for Vinyasa and Yin yoga during Covid, so I started combining my personal fitness history into a class I now call SCOULPT. The word yoga literally means to yoke- to combine the mind, the body, and the spirit. SCOULPT is a combination of fitness and yoga. It’s sculpting and yoking together. I think of it as the union of your soul

What I teach is a medium to low impact workout with weights, blocks, and bands. There is a yoga component, a cardio component, and a strength component. We always ground in- breath is the number one. Breathing is a huge part of making sure that you're staying present with the body, present with the muscles, knowing how you're feeling. We also do cardio bursts and use weights and bands for building strength. Combine all that with really fun music I curate for each workout, a darkly lit room, a the space is heated to about 78 degrees.

What do you tell people that are intimidated to try it? 

Working out is intimidating. Being in groups of people that you really don't know is intimidating. It's taken a long time for me to build the clientele that I have because it’s hard and it's scary to try new things. I try to make each class as safe as possible. Like the dark room, you can't really see the person to your left or right unless you're staring at them. There are also different modifications so you can work at your level. If you need to take a moment, it’s okay. Just back off and notice where you are with your breath.

Let’s change the conversation to jewelry. How did you start Lunar Tides?

I literally started by wrapping agates and beach glass I would find on the beach. I’m totally self taught. I love working with crystals. I’m a Taurus so I’m an earth being that loves to feel connected and grounded. I like to make jewelry that reminds people of the ocean, the beach, and the earth. I love creating pieces with blues and greens and tans. 

Lunar Tides Jewelry on display at Evergreen Flower Farm

What does a crystal do for you energetically?

Crystals are absolutely amazing. These things are made from the earth. We can polish them and wear them as jewelry. Personally, I try to wear at least one crystal a day. For me, having that energy is really important. I feel more connected to the sacred part of life. It’s more than just being human, it’s about being part of something larger.

Do you have a favorite crystal? 

That's so hard. I have recently been wearing a lot of sunstone- probably because I’m trying to manifest the sun! One of my all time favorite crystals is an Australian opal. It’s pricey, but it’s beautiful. It’s shiny and milky white with a bunch of tiny little rainbow spots in it. 

How do you go about creating a collection?

I think of colors and I often pair them with the seasons. So say in the fall I find myself wanting to use orange carnelian, yellow citrine, or brown tiger’s eye. For winter I may be at a Christmas themed show, so I will often use green jade. In spring I lean more toward aqua-marine apatite. And I always have a clear quartz on hand no matter what. It’s a master healer of energy and its a base stone I use often. 

How long does it take you to make a typical pair of earrings?

It really depends. The beaded hoops that I've been doing take quite some time because it’s all these teeny tiny, like two millimeter, seed beads. I don't even know how I see them! They may look simple, but there is a lot of time behind them. The beading, the coloring, the whole aesthetic. I want people to see someone wearing them and say, those must be Lunar Tide earrings.

Lunar Tides Jewelry collection

How can someone find your jewelry and do you make custom pieces? 

I just did one of my biggest custom wedding orders this last year, which was pretty amazing. It was just over 20 pieces that I did for the bridesmaids and for the bride. It was very fun to collaborate. I will gladly accept requests for work that resonates with me. 

There are a few ways people can find me. In Grayland, Evergreen Flower Farm carries my jewelry. I’m so thankful to Angela for giving me the opportunity to be in her shop. I also go to some events in the area- like I’ve had a booth at Tokeland Woodfest and the Westport Wine Festival. Some events I’ve had to apply to, as they are jury selected, and I've been blessed to get chosen for those. I would like to be in a few more places throughout Grays Harbor or Pacific County, but I would want to make a collection curated specifically for that shop. People can also find me at Lunar Tides Jewelry on Instagram- if you see a piece there you like, just send me a message. 

Do you have any upcoming events- jewelry or yoga you want to share with us?

On April 25th I’m doing a Yin Yoga and Sound Healing class at Waves alongside Terrish Bilbrey. She will play the crystal sound bowls and I will lead the yoga. Yin yoga is a practice where the poses are held much longer - between five to seven breaths, maybe even more. The intention is to hold the poses to work through the muscle, the fascia and the tissue of the body. 

Thanks for sharing your gifts with the community Brenna. You come across as someone dedicated, focused, and truly in tune with what you want out of life. 

Thank you. I grew up fast and I've had a lot of different life experiences. I think learning yoga as a young teen and seeing how much it changed other women’s lives, well I really saw that. And as I practiced more, it started to change my life too. It’s all about balance. I know how to have fun, I know how to be busy, and I know how to relax. I love to be in the sun when its out. I love to cook and have friends over. When I go on a run, it’s a huge meditation for me. And teaching is also a sort of a meditation. I completely become a different person when I’m teaching. I truly believe I am living my dharma. 

(Note from The Drift- I decided I would try Brenna’s SCOUPLT class. It began with child’s pose and setting an intention and grounding through the breath. The room was dark and warm and the music was loud. There were a handful of other participants, all women of various ages and body types. We moved into some yoga poses- cat/cow, down dog, plank- then moved into some cardio bursts- mountain climbers. Then strength came into play with squats and weights, wall sits, bands, and arms. A few times I had to shake it out or modify, but I felt no shame in doing so. At one point I looked at my watch and 45 minutes had flown by and I couldn’t believe it. Not only was I going to make it to the end of class (60 minutes), I was having fun, but also being challenged. The class came to a close with some good stretching and then a grounding Shavasana (lying on your back and allowing the body to relax) to tap into the breath and take into account how the body felt. Mine felt tired, but in a good way. (And yes I was sore the next day!)